1 No. of 2013 Forestry, Protected Areas And
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NO. OF 2013 FORESTRY, PROTECTED AREAS AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BILL 2013 DECEMBER 2013 1 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Preamble Enactment PART I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title and commencement 2. Interpretation 3. Act binds the State 4. Principles PART II ADMINISTRATION 5. Duties of the Minister and the Chief Secretary 6. Administration and Implementation of this Act 7. Cooperation between the Authority and the Department 8. Establishment and incorporation of the Authority 9. Powers of the Authority and the Department 10. Functions of the Authority and the Department 11. Board of Directors and Constitution 12. Appointment of members 13. Resignation of office 14. Vacancy in Board membership 15. Remuneration allowance 16. Meetings of the Board and the Chief Secretary 17. Managing Director and Corporate Secretary 2 18. Seal of the Authority 19. Delegation 20. Staffing 21. Public Officers in Service 22. Pension Fund Plan 23. Superannuation Benefits 24. Superannuation Benefits on Death 25. Calculation of Superannuation Benefits 26. Secondment 27. Terms of Secondment 28. Continuation of Representation by Association 29. Agreement binding on Representative Association 30. Continuation of Collective Agreement and Other Agreements 31. Right to register or join a trade union 32. Minister may give general directions 33. Authority and Department to make assessment 34. Annual report 35. National Biodiversity Information System PART III FORESTS AND FOREST RESOURCES 36. National Forest Policy 37. Identification and monitoring 38. Timber Harvesting Permit 39. State Lands Timber Harvesting Permit 40. Concession Area Timber Harvesting Permit 41. Log Haulage Permit 42. Timber Transportation Permit 43. Duty of Permittee to take reasonable care 44. Destination of Harvested Timber and Timber Collection Facility Permit 45. Timber Export Permit 3 46. Sawmill Permit 47. Furniture Manufacturing Facility Permit 48. Non-Timber Forest Products Extraction, Removal and Transportation Permit 49. Charcoal Permit PART IV DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PROTECTED AREAS 50. Immediate designation of protected areas 51. Protected Areas 52. Revision of NPAP 53. Designation and Vesting of Protected Areas 54. Notice of intention to designate a protected area 55. Publication of Designation Order in Gazette 56. Responsibility for management of protected areas 57. Temporary Protected Areas 58. Private land in temporary protected areas 59. Private land in protected areas 60. Agreement to manage private land as protected area 61. Establishment of buffer zones 62. Buffer zone management plan 63. Revocation and variation of designation orders 64. Restrictions on disposal of State land in protected areas 65. Restrictions on development in protected areas 66. Requirement for Protected Area Special Development Permit for Existing Activities 67. Operations by governmental entities in protected areas 68. Harvesting, Haulage or Transportation of Timber from Protected Areas 69. Responsibility for prevention and control of fires. 4 70. Fire Permit 71. Protected Forest PART V WILDLIFE CONSERVATION 72. National Wildlife Policy 73. Identification and monitoring 74. Protected Species 75. Partially Protected Fauna 76. Wildlife Hunting Return 77. Partially Protected Flora 78. Actions against Protected and Partially Protected Species of Fauna and Flora 79. Preservation Order 80. Permit required for trade 81. Fauna and Flora Dealer Permit 82. Partially Protected Flora and Fauna Possession Permit 83. Protected Flora and Fauna Possession Permit 84. Disposal of Carcass or Meat of Protected Species 85. Permit required for Scientific Research 86. Flora and Fauna Propagation Permit 87. Fauna Rehabilitation Centre Permit 88. Living Modified Organisms PART VI MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS 5 89. Incorporation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements 90. Applicability to agreements PART VII AUTHORISED OFFICERS 91. Appointment of authorised officers 92. Appointment of wardens PART VIII MONITORING, INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT 93. Powers of entry, search and seizure 94. Power to arrest 95. Offender to be taken to nearest police station 96. Production of seized items 97. Sampling and testing PART IX ENFORCEMENT NOTICES AND CESSATION ORDERS 98. Enforcement Notices 99. Authority may take steps to ensure cessation of activity PART X ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS 6 100. Environmental Requirement PART XI CIVIL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS 101. Notice of Violation 102. Referral of the matter to the DPP 103. Administrative Civil Assessment 104. Other actions by the Authority or Department PART XII CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS 105. Criminal Procedure 106. Responsible Corporate Officer PART XIII OFFENCES 107. Offences PART XIV JURISDICTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 108. Jurisdiction of the Environmental Commission 109. Standing 110. Decision of Commission final PART XV FORESTRY, PROTECTED AREAS AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION FUNDS AND FINANCE 7 111. Establishment and purpose of Funds 112. Trustees of the Funds 113. Resources of Funds 114. Investment of Fund monies 115. Borrowing powers of the Authority 116. Authority to be a Statutory Authority 117. Expenses and accounts of the Authority and the Department 118. Report to the Minister 119. Authority and Department to submit estimates 120. Exemption from taxes PART XVI REGULATIONS AND RULES 121. Regulations PART XVII MISCELLANEOUS 122. Amendment of Schedules 123. Fees 124. Forms 125. Service of Documents 126. Intervention by the Attorney General 127. Ethical Standards and Prohibitions 128. Conflict of Interest 129. Acts done in good faith 130. Reservation of civil remedies 131. Relationship with other Governmental Entities 132. Limitation of action 133. Repeals, savings, amendments, transitionals 8 134. Service of Documents 135. Application of Customs Act FIRST SCHEDULE SECOND SCHEDULE THIRD SCHEDULE FOURTH SCHEDULE FIFTH SCHEDULE SIXTH SCHEDULE 9 A BILL FOR AN ACT to repeal and replace the Conservation of Wildlife Act, Ch. 67:01, Forests Act, Ch. 66:01, Sawmills Act, Ch. 66:02 and to amend the Environmental Management Act, Ch. 35:05, Fisheries Act, Ch. 67:51, State Lands Act, Ch. 57:01, Water and Sewerage Act, Ch. 54:40, National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago Act, Ch. 40:53, and Marine Areas (Preservation and Enhancement) Act, Ch. 37:02 and to provide for the preservation, protection and management of designated protected areas, for the regulation of the scientific, economic, recreational, and educational use of these areas, for the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife, forests and forest resources, for the establishment of a Forest and Protected Areas Management Authority, for the establishment of a Forestry, Protected Areas and Wildlife Conservation Fund for Trinidad and for Tobago and for matters connected therewith. Preamble WHEREAS the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (“the Government”) is committed to the preservation, protection and management of certain forests, designated areas and wildlife which are at best representative of the biological diversity which gives Trinidad and Tobago its unique character; And whereas it is necessary to regulate scientific, economic, educational, cultural, archaeological and recreational use and to preserve these forests, designated protected areas and wildlife for their intrinsic worth and benefit to the people of Trinidad and Tobago; 10 Enactment ENACTED by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago as follows: PART I PRELIMINARY Short title and 1. This Act may be cited as the Forestry, Protected Areas and commencement Wildlife Conservation Act, 2013 and shall come into operation on such day as is fixed by the President by Proclamation. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:- “activity” means the erection of a structure or part thereof, the carrying out of any work in, on, over or under the land or sea, the use of any building in any land or marine area, the hunting of fauna, harvesting of flora and the exploitation of natural resources; “Act” means the Forestry, Protected Areas and Wildlife Conservation Act, 2013 and any subsidiary legislation made pursuant to it; “ammunition” means— (a) ammunition for any firearm of any kind; (b) every shell, cartridge case, bomb, hand grenade, bullet or like missile, whether containing any explosive or gas or chemical or electrical charge or not, and whether intended to be discharged from or by any gun or other propelling or releasing instrument or mechanism or not, except missiles which can be used only for the purpose of extinguishing fires; (c) every part of any such shell, cartridge case, bomb, hand grenade, bullet or missile, whether such shell, cartridge case, bomb, hand grenade, bullet or missile may have been completely formed at any 11 time or not; (d) every fuse, percussion cap, or priming cap, adapted, or prepared for the purpose of causing the propulsion of or exploding any shell, bomb, hand grenade, bullet or other projectile; (e) every bullet clip or cartridge clip; (f) any explosive when enclosed in any case or contrivance adapted or prepared so as to form a cartridge, charge or complete round for any firearm or any other weapon, or to form any tube for firing explosives, or to form a detonator, or a projectile, which can be used (whether singly or in suitable combinations) as, or in connection with, a missile; and (g) everything declared by Order of the President to be ammunition in accordance with the Firearms Act Ch. 16:01. “Authority” means the Forest and Protected Areas Management Authority established